Natural yellow type cheeses like for example Samso or Gouda are traditionally produced on the basis of pasteurized cow's milk, acidified with lactic acid bacteria into cheese milk. Rennet is added to the cheese milk in order to obtain a coagulum; the coagulum is cut, stirred and heated into cheese curd.
The cheese curd is pressed together to form a coherent mass—a process which can be performed in different ways dependent on what kind of cheese type is produced. For a Samsø type cheese it is first performed below whey and then afterwards without whey. The cheese is then cooled in water for a day and afterwards brined for a day. Subsequently the cheese is matured, a process that for Samsø is performed in foil for 6 to 20 weeks until the right taste has developed.
This production process is very time consuming, primarily due to the long maturation period. This maturation period is however very important in order to achieve the desired taste and in order for enzymes from starter culture as well as enzymes from a possible maturation culture to transform the cheese curd from a rubbery consistency into a firm, supple and delicious consistency.
For the production of pasta filata the cheese curd is heated. This is normally carried out in hot water but processes where the cheese curd is heated with steam have also been described, see e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,440,481, 6,372,268, EP1576886 and WO2006/026811.